precipitant
1
9.1
- noun
- /prɪˈsɪpɪtənt/
- Specialized
- The main precipitant of the outflow of Bosnian refugees has been the ongoing war, which has involved frequent intentional attacks on civilian populations as well as widespread atrocities and human rights violations.
Examples
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A common precipitant of allergic reactions is exposure to certain foods, such as peanuts.
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The reasons for the coup were many, and it is not clear how to rank the most important precipitants.
Academic text (1995) -
From the beginning, Cordier saw Lumumba as a precipitant of the crisis:
Academic text (1992) -
The more immediate precipitant of the decision to conduct a nuclear test arose from the particular exigencies of India's domestic politics.
Academic text (1997) -
Once the background precipitants of refugee outflows occur, a sense of perceived security threat often develops within the sending societies.
Academic text (1997) -
Are there any events on the horizon that could serve as precipitants of demonstrations by bringing large numbers of aggrieved, mobilized citizens together in the same location?
Academic text (2002) -
A second precipitant to TS in some children appears to be the use of stimulant medication, such as Ritalin, which is frequently prescribed for hyperactivity.
Academic text (1990) -
In particular, threatened consequences from the legal system have been found to be common precipitants to treatment entry (Farabee, Prendergast, & Anglin, 1998; Miller & Flaherty, 2000; Polcin, 2001).
Academic text (2009) -
The scientist identified the precipitant agent that triggered the chemical reaction during the experiment.
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In studies of social behavior, poverty is often seen as a precipitant leading to increased crime rates.
How Direct
Surface Forms
Morphology
precipitant = precipitate (transparent) = precipitate + ant
Derived from the verb 'precipitate' with the suffix '-ant' to denote an agent or factor that precipitates (causes) an event; the morphological relation is regular, though the sense is somewhat generalised.
Etymology
Precipitant comes from the Latin praecipitare, which means 'to throw down' or 'to fall headfirst'. A precipitant in general use is something that suddenly causes an event to happen—like a push that makes things 'fall' into change—so the original image of falling explains why it means a trigger.